Is it possible to play SH3 in resolutions higher than 1024x740 ?

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 02:45 PM

I bought a new 20" (5ms) LCD monitor the other week and being able to play my games now in 1600x900 widescreen is fantastic,I was hoping the same could be done with SH3? Dont get me wrong 1024 is still good,but 1600x900 would be even better!

Cheers guys.

frau kaleun · 03-02-10, 03:33 PM

You can start here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1092

Happy hunting!

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 03:45 PM

Hope it doesnt require an essay's worth of editing

Thanks for the link,will give it a go

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 03:48 PM

I just had a look at the instructions for changing the res,quite easy it seems.Shame it cant alter the actual aspect ratio for widescreen monitors,but if it gives me the chance to use my monitor's native res then this is a godsend!
Thanks again!

frau kaleun · 03-02-10, 03:52 PM

You're welcome!

You might also want to do a search of the SH3 forums for "hi res" or by the name of the mod. There have been several discussions about using it and dealing with any problems that come up... don't know if O/S or other factors make any difference, I can't remember. I only skimmed those threads because it worked fine for me from the get-go.

However since it's not complicated to install/uninstall it's not really a big PITA to fiddle with it if problems do come up.

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 04:11 PM

frau kaleun,

Right,I carried out the simple procedure as instructed and to be honest (at the moment at least) I cant tell if its actually altered the res,although in areas (mainly around the dials in the control room) it does look a bit sharper.I will revert the res fix down to say 800x600 and see if it changes the res,at that level it should be obvious.There is a little bit of jagginess around the graphics but that is probably due to having no anti aliasing on,GWX3 is quite intensive as it is and slowdowns would probably ensue.
I will let you know what happens as soon as I am able

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 04:18 PM

Right,I reverted the res fix down to 800x600 and as soon as I went to the main menu screen I was unable to move the curser to the bottom of the screen and the quality was very poor!,confirming the fix DOES in fact alter the res.I think the difference between 1024x740 and 1600x900 can be hard to spot at times,but as I said the dials and some of the upper deck rails look sharper.
Good job!

Jimbuna · 03-02-10, 04:19 PM

Paul, I'm currently playing GWX3.0 on a 22" widescreen monitor at a resolution of 1680 x 1050 without any problems....and on a nVidia 7800GS card at that.

frau kaleun · 03-02-10, 04:23 PM

TBH, I don't remember seeing that big a difference either, although the change in res wasn't so drastic for me... I think I just bumped it up to 1280x1024 which is what I have in display settings overall. And mostly because any time I load a game with a res lower than that, I get a popup in the middle of the screen telling me I should run the program at a higher res for best results. Which always annoys the heck out of me, lol. The res fix mod made that go away at least for SH3.

I think I've read in other threads that taking screenies at different res settings and comparing them is a good way to see the difference. I do like that this mod also lets me send those to a designated folder where it's easy to sort through them later.

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 04:47 PM

Jim,

Whats your personal opinion of widescreen monitors for gaming?.The overall viewing area is fantastic when being used to a 16" CRT monitor for too many years to remember,but in some areas do you get a stretched effect?,for example around the dials and scopes in SH3,it is slightly eliptical as opposed to perfectly round.This is hardly noticeable however and I soon got used to the widescreen format.
Just for the record my monitor is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/memb...stRecentReview

Paul Riley · 03-02-10, 04:50 PM

Oh and frau ,thanks again

frau kaleun · 03-02-10, 07:58 PM

No probs, Paul.

I don't have a widescreen monitor, obviously, but is it possible to set the resolution to a traditional non-widescreen aspect ratio and just have what I guess would be a bit of vertical letterboxing on either side? Or maybe set up the game to run in a window instead of full screen? If possible that might be a way to get the highest res possible without any "stretch" effect.

Jimbuna · 03-02-10, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Jim,

Whats your personal opinion of widescreen monitors for gaming?.The overall viewing area is fantastic when being used to a 16" CRT monitor for too many years to remember,but in some areas do you get a stretched effect?,for example around the dials and scopes in SH3,it is slightly eliptical as opposed to perfectly round.This is hardly noticeable however and I soon got used to the widescreen format.
Just for the record my monitor is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/memb...stRecentReview

I think if I'm to be totally honest....yes, it is ever so slightly eliptical, but hardly noticeable.

This 22" is my monitor:

http://www.iiyama.com/en_GB/Home

Paul Riley · 03-03-10, 04:48 AM

@ frau,
I am not sure at the moment,I will have to look into it in more depth.One thing I DO know is as far as LCD monitors are concerned as opposed to CRT it is very recommended to run applications in their native resolution ie,in my case 1600x900 (which is widescreen),all other resolutions are either too small or too large on the desktop.End of the day the slight stretching is not that bad as the clarity is far superior to old CRT monitors,and the contrast ratio too...it just takes some getting used to thats all.One advantage however that CRT monitors have (at the moment) is refresh rates,or the monitor's ability to move graphics around without any slowdown,or ghosting in LCD terms.A good LCD monitor of around 6ms (the human eyeball cannot detect changes in the screen apparently from about 6ms or lower,this is the optimal point as far as speed is concerned) or less is ideal for gaming with no visible ghosting whatsoever,and 2ms is SUPER fast!.
It is interesting to note that other games that fully support 1600x900 res and higher do not display stretching to my knowledge,or at least I cant notice it and the sharpness of the image is even more profound at that res.Maybe its because SH3 doesnt actually support these higher res's we tend to get a slight stretching of the screen.
I will try and post some screens of how my game looks sometime.Still looks great mind you!

@ Jim,
Nice monitor mate

frau kaleun · 03-03-10, 08:50 AM

Oh, I have an LCD, just not a widescreen one.

I was just wondering if there would be a way to run the game on a widescreen at a traditional 4:3 (or close to it) resolution, because if/when I upgrade my monitor I know the stretchiness on a widescreen might be an issue for me with programs that run fullscreen but weren't formatted for a widescreen aspect ratio.

Lol, it already bothers me when a TV show or movie that's not in widescreen format is played on a widescreen TV and the picture is stretched out to fill the whole screen. I've had people try to convince me that the difference is "not noticeable" but to my eye that's definitely not the case.

03-02-10, 02:45 PM	#1
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Is it possible to play SH3 in resolutions higher than 1024x740 ? I bought a new 20" (5ms) LCD monitor the other week and being able to play my games now in 1600x900 widescreen is fantastic,I was hoping the same could be done with SH3? Dont get me wrong 1024 is still good,but 1600x900 would be even better! Cheers guys. __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 03:45 PM	#3
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Hope it doesnt require an essay's worth of editing Thanks for the link,will give it a go __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 03:48 PM	#4
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Fantastic! I just had a look at the instructions for changing the res,quite easy it seems.Shame it cant alter the actual aspect ratio for widescreen monitors,but if it gives me the chance to use my monitor's native res then this is a godsend! Thanks again! __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 04:11 PM	#6
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	frau kaleun, Right,I carried out the simple procedure as instructed and to be honest (at the moment at least) I cant tell if its actually altered the res,although in areas (mainly around the dials in the control room) it does look a bit sharper.I will revert the res fix down to say 800x600 and see if it changes the res,at that level it should be obvious.There is a little bit of jagginess around the graphics but that is probably due to having no anti aliasing on,GWX3 is quite intensive as it is and slowdowns would probably ensue. I will let you know what happens as soon as I am able __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 04:18 PM	#7
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Right,I reverted the res fix down to 800x600 and as soon as I went to the main menu screen I was unable to move the curser to the bottom of the screen and the quality was very poor!,confirming the fix DOES in fact alter the res.I think the difference between 1024x740 and 1600x900 can be hard to spot at times,but as I said the dials and some of the upper deck rails look sharper. Good job! __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 03:33 PM	#2
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	You can start here: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1092 Happy hunting!

03-02-10, 03:52 PM	#5
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	You're welcome! You might also want to do a search of the SH3 forums for "hi res" or by the name of the mod. There have been several discussions about using it and dealing with any problems that come up... don't know if O/S or other factors make any difference, I can't remember. I only skimmed those threads because it worked fine for me from the get-go. However since it's not complicated to install/uninstall it's not really a big PITA to fiddle with it if problems do come up.

03-02-10, 04:19 PM	#8
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Paul, I'm currently playing GWX3.0 on a 22" widescreen monitor at a resolution of 1680 x 1050 without any problems....and on a nVidia 7800GS card at that. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

03-02-10, 04:23 PM	#9
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	TBH, I don't remember seeing that big a difference either, although the change in res wasn't so drastic for me... I think I just bumped it up to 1280x1024 which is what I have in display settings overall. And mostly because any time I load a game with a res lower than that, I get a popup in the middle of the screen telling me I should run the program at a higher res for best results. Which always annoys the heck out of me, lol. The res fix mod made that go away at least for SH3. I think I've read in other threads that taking screenies at different res settings and comparing them is a good way to see the difference. I do like that this mod also lets me send those to a designated folder where it's easy to sort through them later.

03-02-10, 04:47 PM	#10
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Jim, Whats your personal opinion of widescreen monitors for gaming?.The overall viewing area is fantastic when being used to a 16" CRT monitor for too many years to remember,but in some areas do you get a stretched effect?,for example around the dials and scopes in SH3,it is slightly eliptical as opposed to perfectly round.This is hardly noticeable however and I soon got used to the widescreen format. Just for the record my monitor is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/memb...stRecentReview __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 04:50 PM	#11
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Oh and frau ,thanks again __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-02-10, 07:58 PM	#12
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	No probs, Paul. I don't have a widescreen monitor, obviously, but is it possible to set the resolution to a traditional non-widescreen aspect ratio and just have what I guess would be a bit of vertical letterboxing on either side? Or maybe set up the game to run in a window instead of full screen? If possible that might be a way to get the highest res possible without any "stretch" effect.

03-03-10, 04:48 AM	#14
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	@ frau, I am not sure at the moment,I will have to look into it in more depth.One thing I DO know is as far as LCD monitors are concerned as opposed to CRT it is very recommended to run applications in their native resolution ie,in my case 1600x900 (which is widescreen),all other resolutions are either too small or too large on the desktop.End of the day the slight stretching is not that bad as the clarity is far superior to old CRT monitors,and the contrast ratio too...it just takes some getting used to thats all.One advantage however that CRT monitors have (at the moment) is refresh rates,or the monitor's ability to move graphics around without any slowdown,or ghosting in LCD terms.A good LCD monitor of around 6ms (the human eyeball cannot detect changes in the screen apparently from about 6ms or lower,this is the optimal point as far as speed is concerned) or less is ideal for gaming with no visible ghosting whatsoever,and 2ms is SUPER fast!. It is interesting to note that other games that fully support 1600x900 res and higher do not display stretching to my knowledge,or at least I cant notice it and the sharpness of the image is even more profound at that res.Maybe its because SH3 doesnt actually support these higher res's we tend to get a slight stretching of the screen. I will try and post some screens of how my game looks sometime.Still looks great mind you! @ Jim, Nice monitor mate __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-03-10, 08:50 AM	#15
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Oh, I have an LCD, just not a widescreen one. I was just wondering if there would be a way to run the game on a widescreen at a traditional 4:3 (or close to it) resolution, because if/when I upgrade my monitor I know the stretchiness on a widescreen might be an issue for me with programs that run fullscreen but weren't formatted for a widescreen aspect ratio. Lol, it already bothers me when a TV show or movie that's not in widescreen format is played on a widescreen TV and the picture is stretched out to fill the whole screen. I've had people try to convince me that the difference is "not noticeable" but to my eye that's definitely not the case.